Nehemiah Royce House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Nehemiah Royce House
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Nehemiah Royce House
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 Location in Connecticut
Location in the United States
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| Location | 538 N. Main St. Wallingford, Connecticut |
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| Built | 1734 |
| Architect | Richard Henry Dana, Jr.; J. Frederick Kelly |
| Architectural style | Colonial |
| NRHP reference No. | 98000966 |
| Added to NRHP | August 24, 1998 |
The Nehemiah Royce House, also known as the Washington Elm House, is a historic home located at 538 North Main Street in Wallingford, Connecticut. This special house was visited twice by George Washington himself! His first visit was in 1775 when he was on his way to lead the Continental Army (the American army during the Revolutionary War) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He came back in 1789 and even gave a speech to the people of Wallingford right in front of the house, near a famous elm tree.
Nehemiah Royce: A Founding Father of Wallingford
Nehemiah Royce was born around 1637 in New London County, Connecticut. His parents were Robert Royce and Mary Sims.
On November 20, 1660, Nehemiah married Hannah Morgan. They had nine children together.
Royce was a skilled carpenter, joiner, and blacksmith. He was one of the first 38 people chosen to buy land from the Quinnipiac nation. This was approved by the Connecticut General Assembly (the state's law-making group) in 1667.
On May 12, 1670, Wallingford officially became a town. About 126 people settled there. On May 11, 1693, Royce was elected as a "deputy." This meant he represented Wallingford in the main government of the Connecticut Colony.
Nehemiah Royce passed away on November 1, 1706, in New Haven. He is buried in the Center Street Cemetery in Wallingford.
Notable Descendants of Nehemiah Royce
Nehemiah Royce has thousands of descendants today. Some famous people who are related to him include:
- Jonathan Brace (1754–1837): He was a U.S. Representative from Connecticut. This means he was a lawmaker in the U.S. government. He graduated from Yale College in 1779.
- Clint Eastwood: A well-known American film actor, director, and producer.
- Millard Fillmore (1800–1874): He served as the 13th President of the United States from 1850 to 1853. He was the last president from the Whig Party (United States).
- Oliver Wolcott Gibbs: An American editor, humorist, and writer for The New Yorker magazine.
- Hamilton Jeffers (1893–1978): A famous astronomer who studied stars and planets.
- John Robinson Jeffers (1887–1962): An American poet known for his writings about the California coast. He is seen as an important figure in the environmental movement.
- George B. McClellan: A general during the American Civil War. He also served as Governor of New Jersey and ran against Abraham Lincoln in the 1864 United States presidential election.
- Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903): An American journalist and landscape designer. He is known as the "father of American landscape architecture" and designed many famous parks, including Central Park in New York City.
The Historic Nehemiah Royce House
The Royce house is a great example of an American colonial saltbox architectural style. This style of house has a long, sloping roof on one side, like an old-fashioned saltbox. The Royce family lived in this house for over 200 years!
The house was moved to its current spot in 1924. In the 1930s and 1940s, architects like Richard Henry Dana IV and J. Frederick Kelly helped restore the house. For a while, it was a museum where people could learn about its history. Later, it was used as a home by Choate Rosemary Hall, a school. In 1999, the school gave the house to the Wallingford Historic Preservation Trust. Today, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's recognized as an important historical site.
